Tony Stark
Tony Stark, real name Anthony "Tony" Edward Stark is the main character in the series. Voiced by Adrian Petriw. Biography Early Life Tony Stark is the son of Howard Stark and Maria Stark. Tony had used to go to school like other kids, but when his mother passed away, his father decided to keep him close by. Staying isolated from school, Tony excelled in the corporate world, developing new technologies for Stark International, his father's company, to the point that the scientists there were unable to figure out how most of the things he made actually worked. His only friend was James "Rhodey" Rhodes, the son of his father's lawyer, Roberta Rhodes. Origin Tony had just completed his new invention, a flying suit of armor, and was convinced it would impress his father. Sometime later, Tony designed a laser system for his father's new Earth Mover machines, meant to help in archaeological digs and disaster relief. However, Obadiah Stane wanted the use the Earth Movers as weapons, which Howard Stark blatantly refused to allow due to his strong belief that "weapons never solve problems, they only create more." Returning by jet from the dig site where his father had been excavating Chinese ruins involving the Makluan Rings, which Howard believed to be an advanced form of technology, Tony was planning on showing him the new flight-capable armor he had developed. However, their plane blew up, and Tony's father was believed to have died. Tony survived thanks to his armor's life support system. His chest area had sustained the most damage, enough for him to have had to use an artificial heart implanted into his chest to keep him alive. After Tony managed to narrowly avoid death, the armor's autopilot took him to the house of his best friend, Rhodey. Becoming Iron Man After a week, Tony returns to the public eye, but because of Howard's mysterious alleged death, Stane becomes CEO of Stark International. He makes a point of keeping Tony from any involvement in his "projects" (i.e. the weaponizing of several of the Starks' innovations, including the Earth Movers) on the pretense that his father wanted him to attend normal school and have a normal life. Tony can officially inherit the company once he turns eighteen and graduates from high school. He is shown to excel in the Tomorrow Academy, memorizing all of his textbooks and even finding all of the most advanced topics out-of-date. There he meets another student named Pepper Potts, who seems to have memorized his life due to the fact that her father is an FBI agent who is looking into the alleged death of Tony's father. When the two first meet, Pepper makes a big deal of letting the young heir know exactly how plausible it is that Obadiah Stane is responsible for it. He uses his suit for the first time to find out more about Stane as well as to try and stop his ideas of turning Stark International into a weapons dealer. However, when his crazy whim somehow causes him to save dozens of lives by stopping a runaway train from crashing into Stark Tower and then careening off a dead-end track among the busy streets of New York City, he becomes a hero, adopting the name the general public has thought up: "Iron Man". He sets up his lab at a nearby compound Rhodey's mother has looked over and forms Team Iron Man (the name was thought of by Pepper), consisting of Rhodey, Pepper, and himself at present. Meeting the Mandarin Iron Man meets the Mandarin for the first time (and witnesses the power that the Makluan Rings contain) after he destroys the Earth Movers his and his father's invention run amok. Iron Man is easily defeated by the combined power of the Mandarin's ring in the his possession. After the brief battle, Tony decides to resume his father's search for the Makluan Rings, having seen what they are capable of (particularly in the wrong hands). Tony, by chance, befriends Gene Khan (the Mandarin's alter-ego), who attends the Tomorrow Academy when he learns Gene can help him find the rest of the rings. Sentient Armor Tony starts upgrading the Iron Man armor with super-villain tech that he came across as Iron Man. During a battle with an also-upgraded Whiplash, an impact from a fall briefly gives it sentience. It begins watching Tony Stark. Soon, the armor detects Whiplash's energy signature. Tony puts on the armor and goes to spy on Mr. Fix and Whiplash without confrontation. The armor takes over and breaks into Fix's lair. The armor easily overpowers both him and Whiplash even with Whiplash's new upgrade. The armor appears to have destroyed them and Fix's lair, along with them. The armor knocks Rhodey unconscious as he is preparing to disassemble the armor, seeing him as a threat. The armor's primary directive is to protect Tony Stark, and to this end, it goes as far as to attempt permanently encasing Stark inside the armor, since he keeps looking for trouble. It attempts to kill Rhodes, but Tony takes the blast, which does further damage to his heart. The armor, whose purpose is to preserve its creator, sacrifices all of its power to save him. Tales of Suspense When Tony and his friends track down the fifth ring, he, Gene, and Pepper are captured by Zhang and his men and they steal the fourth ring off Tony's finger. He and his men then travel to Macchu Pichu so Zhang can claim the fifth ring for himself. Zhang ends up retreating when the Temple of Sacrifice's guardian,Fin Fang Foom (a stone dragon), awakens and leaves the five rings behind. Pepper tries to pass the test by throwing the rings in the dragon's mouth, which really doesn't do anything except make their dilemma worse. Rhodey comes just in time in his new War Machine armor to deliver Stark's own armor. It's then Gene learns of his true identity as Iron Man (which is kind of ironic, considering the fact that Tony was against Pepper's suggestion to tell Gene in the first place, and then Tony makes a big, dramatic show of telling him very slowly and full of purpose and looking all proud about it). Iron Man and Rhodey proceed to battle the dragon, but they can't beat it using brute force. Eventually, Gene passes the test by sacrificing himself for Pepper and being swallowed by the dragon. Inside the belly of the beast, Gene finds his four rings as well as the remaining fifth one, this discovery causing him to laugh maniacally. His friends are relieved to see him alive as he comes out of the now frozen dragon's mouth, but their victory is short-lived as Gene now reveals himself as the Mandarin. He takes down Rhodey, sending him flying into a solid stone wall, before fighting Iron Man. During the battle, Gene reveals that he was the one who blew up Tony and his father's jet and that Howard Stark is still alive. The battle ends with Gene knocking Tony out and teleporting himself to his mysteriously located underground lair. Tony has learned that his father is alive and he'll find him by finding Gene. Iron Man Returns Tony Stark returns home after a failed journey to China to search for Gene and Howard Stark. It is Tony Stark's 17th birthday that day. When he finds out that multibillionaire Justin Hammer is going into Stark International, he suits up for the first time in months to spy on him, only to find a new and improved Whiplash trying to kidnap Hammer. He prevents the attempt and escapes. When he comes back to kidnap Obadiah Stane, Iron Man along with War Machine try to save him, but it only resulted in the Mark I armor blowing up and a badly injured Tony. He was taken to the hospital and was saved by Dr. Yinsen. Stark is visited by Justin Hammer who tries to offer him to sell Stark International to him and make billions, but knowing that he will make weapons, he refused to sell. Tony escaped the hospital and put on his new Iron Man Armor Mark II to rescue Obadiah Stane. Iron Man and War Machine tracked his location and were locked in a fight with Whiplash, Mr. Fix, and Blizzard. Thanks to Iron Man's new suit, they both managed to defeat all of them and rescue Stane, but not before leaving him on an empty rooftop. Armor Wars When Iron Man was going back to the Armory from a night patrol, he carelessly let the Ghost follow him there. It was then he saw Tony take off his armor, revealing his identity. Stark was restrained and the Ghost stole his armor specifications and Iron Man's helmet from his terminal. Iron Man followed him and tried to stop him from selling the specs to his client, but he got away and sold them to Obadiah Stane and Justin Hammer. When Tony went after him, Ghost decided not to tell anyone his secret identity until he is old enough to run Stark International, when he is a more profitable target. Stark decided that his battle between Stane and Hammer has just turned into an all-out "war". First, Obadiah Stane uses the specs to build the Guardsmen suits who he uses to discredit Iron Man, but Iron Man outsmarted them and defeated them. Next, he suits up in the Stealth Armor and tries to delete Justin Hammer's specs and stumbles on to something called "Project: Titanium". It is an armored suit built by Hammer Multinational called Titanium Man. Hammer later uses the suit to attack Iron Man and War Machine. He critically damages War Machine and has Iron Man on the run. In the nick of time, he suits up into his Mark II armor and War Machine is repaired. They both heat the Titanium Man suit to the point that the titanium plating would continue burning until it melts. Hammer flies it back to his office and meanwhile, Tony upgrades the Stealth armor's weapons systems for a more prepared fight. Stark eventually goes on more missions to prevent evil use of his armor specs which involved going up against Doctor Doom, monarch of Latveria, and teaming up with the Black Widow and Hawkeye to steal back a Stark International UI chip from Hammer. During the latter mission, he found the last of the offline servers and destroyed it, erasing the last of Hammer's Iron Man specs. Soon, Tony finally loses his contained temper against Stane and unleashes his fury by busting into the military site where he was testing the enhanced Iron Monger mecha. Establishing his dominance over the man, Iron Man drops Stane from a high aerial point, but soon after projects a force field to prevent harm from coming to Stane. Tony and Rhodey later discover footage of Stane making underhanded business arrangements with the Ghost to acquire the Iron Man armor specs, and turn it into the board, which consequently fires Stane. Ecstatic and proud at his achievement, Iron Man decides to don the armor one last time following his decision to relinquish his role as the armored hero. Titanium Man approached him to propose a partnership in order to destroy Obadiah Stane; of course, Iron Man refused the idea. After a heavy beating from Titanium Man, Iron Man heads through the city. As night begins to descend upon the light skies, a vengeful Obadiah dons the Iron Monger armor to kill Tony for depriving him of his position as CEO of Stark International. After attempting to crush Iron Man to death for revenge, Stane is placed into submission by his daughter, Whitney. However, the programming installed by Justin Hammer causes a reluctant Obadiah to viciously attack Iron Man and Whitney. The combined efforts of Iron Man and War Machine easily manage to send Titanium Man flying (presumably in Pennsylvania, as Tony joked in his calculations); however, Obadiah falls off a building ledge after the Iron Monger armor shuts down. Tony and his friends visit Obadiah in his hospital room to console Whitney, who angrily orders them to leave and swears vengeance upon him. Personality Tony Stark is serious, cocky, reckless, and highly self-conscious. He knows that, in terms of technology, he is the best and every time he is proved wrong, he is willing to do whatever it takes to come back on top. He has very little knowledge of social life and has problems interacting with other people (mostly those who are not as rich or as smart as him). Although he doesn't always show it, Tony really cares about his friends and is deeply concerned about their safety, which is why he always tries to do everything on his own and then ends up getting scolded by either Rhodey, Pepper, or both. Tony has a tendency to trust the wrong people, who can easily fool him by playing on his emotions. The more tragic their story sounds (especially if topics such as revenge, mostly on Obadiah Stane) or family issues are brought up), the more Tony is willing to help, even if his friends oppose to the idea. His trust in people was shaken in Look into the Light, when he refused to help the now reformed Living Laser with a problem he has, thinking he'll just betray him, just like Gene Khan or Blizzard, but he came to his senses and helped the Laser just in time. It should be noted that Tony also has some anger issues, often snapping or yelling at friends, especially when things go wrong. Tony doesn't cope very well with things not going according to plan (even though he is rarely, if not never, the person who came up with the plan in the first place). Relationships James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine Rhodes is Tony's childhood best friend and is the son of his father's lawyer, Roberta Rhodes. He is the only person that knew about his double life as Iron Man from the very beginning. As Iron Man's systems operator, he aids Stark through a computer terminal at the Armory. At times, Rhodey is highly critical and protective of Tony when he does something stupid, but Rhodey has learned to tolerate his reckless behavior. He later dons the new War Machine armor in'' Tales of Suspense Part 1.'' Pepper Potts Tony is good friends with Pepper, even though she is hyperactive and can almost never stop talking. When she asked why he never told her about his secret identity, Tony replied that she was never quiet long enough to tell her. It is hinted throughout the series that he might have feelings for Pepper beyond friendship especially since more of her attention has been focused on Gene. Often grumbling how she never escorted him out of the Stark Facility (forgetting the fact that he lives there) and happy at the fact that she starts talking to him again when he brought her up to the SHIELD Helicarrier. Tony shows signs of jealously when Pepper starts dating Happy. Gene Khan/Mandarin In many ways, Tony Stark and Gene Khan are a lot alike, they're rich, trendy, powerful teens, and there's a lot more going on in their lives than anyone suspects. They first met when Tony came into his stepfather's import/export shop to speak to Zhang about the rings. Gene learned that he could help him find the Makluan Rings and he enrolled in his school to get close to him. They became best friends. They both didn't know of each other's identities until the season finale, Tales of Suspense Part 2. It was then that Tony found out that Gene was the one who blew up the plane that he and his father were on and that Howard Stark is still alive somewhere. They broke their friendship after that. Whitney Stane/Madame Masque Whitney's and Tony's relationship with each other is complicated. Whitney Stane is the daughter of Tony's enemy, Obadiah Stane. Obadiah sent her to the Tomorrow Academy to spy on Tony, but she took the position to be close to Tony. When he found out of her true identity as Madame Masque as Iron Man he began to show sympathy for her. Happy Hogan Happy Hogan is a classmate of Tony Stark. Happy would usually do favors for him in exchange for doing his homework for a month, stating that he's "getting the best grades of his life". They also have become friends. Roberta Rhodes Roberta Rhodes is Rhodey's mom and Howard Stark's lawyer. After Howard's disappearance, Roberta acted as a mother figure towards Tony. With his dad being gone she represents a voice of wisdom for young Tony Stark. Obadiah Stane Tony suspected that he blew up his dad's plane and that he did it to gain Stark International. Obadiah then used the company to make weapons, something that Howard, or Tony would've never approved of. Tony was really angry at Stane for ruining his father's company and he wanted to take him down. Even though they are enemies, Obadiah cares about Tony in his own way. When he banned him from Stark International, he was going with Howard's wishes for Tony to have a normal life until he could take over Stark International at age 18. In Chasing Ghosts, when it looked like that he was the one who put the hit out on Tony, he was really tipping off the FBI about the attempted assassination. Howard Stark Tony looks up to his father and he idolizes him. He was devastated when he supposedly died in that plane crash. There was a time when he questioned his morality like when he found out that he used to make weapons, but then he was relieved to hear that he stopped his weapons production the day Tony was born. He is currently held prisoner by Gene Khan. Powers & Abilities Powers Iron Man Mark II: Having no superhuman powers himself, Stark usually employs his armored suit. Stark used to use the Iron Man Armor Mark I, but after it was destroyed by Whiplash, he now uses his Mark II armor. While wearing it he has: *Superhuman Strength: The suit enhances his strength far beyond that of an ordinary man. Iron Man can lift massive weights like cars, train cars, steamrollers, and even an entire crane. *Superhuman Speed: The armor is capable of moving and reacting at high speeds. *Enhanced Durability: His armor can take incredible amounts of punishment. He easily withstand bullets, low yield explosives, and extreme temperatures. *Flight: The armor hovers and flies through the use of jet thrusters in the boots. *Repulsor Gaunlets: The gauntlets have many functions. **Repulsors: His most iconic weaponry. They're concentrated Repulsor and electrical energy beams that are fired from ports on the hands. They can also be emitted in the form of shockwaves or in a direct path to push away objects with great force. His new suit has even stronger repulsors. *Energy Shield: The armor can generate a force field that is highly durable. It can protect the user and others near him from harm. *Secondary Propulsion: It has a second jet propulsion system in his repulsor palms. *Flamethrowers: The Mark II armor has high-powered flamethrowers on the wrists. *Sonic Cannons: The gauntlets have sonic disruptors that can knock a person unconscious. They can also be used offensively on opponents. *Unibeam: A powerful beam that is fired from the power source in the chest. This function rapidly drains the power supply. *Mini-Missiles: His new suit has small, shoulder-mounted missile launchers. *Magnetic Manipulation: Iron Man can manipulate magnetic fields to move small metal objects. *Sensor Systems: The armor can see the electromagnetic spectrum, has telescopic sensors, and can detect sounds. *Life Support: The armor can sustain its wearer for an indefinite amount of time. *Comm Systems: The suit has built-in connection a secret communication line, allowing him to talk Rhodey on the computer terminal in the Armory. Abilities *Genius-level Intellect: Apart from his suit, Tony has a highly gifted intellect that specializes in hardware, computers, and his armored suits. Even the experts at Stark International never completely understood the technologies he designed there. Tony created his first Iron Man suit completely on his own (he mentioned that may have "out-geniused" himself), memorized all of his school books on his second day of school, and found even the most advanced topics at theTomorrow Academy to be out of date. In Ready, A.I.M., Fire, the Controller says that Stark's file mentions that he is smarter than the whole A.I.M organization, which is one of the greatest think tanks in the world. *Vast Wealth: Tony Stark has access to billions, which means he has the resources to invent new technology as he wishes. But since he is still a teenager, there are limits to his funds, at least until he turns 18 when he completely inherits it. *Skilled Combatant: Stark is a good melee fighter. He once stalemated the Ghost without wearing his armor. *Indomitable Will: Stark possesses a very strong will. Every time his mechanical heart was damaged, his will was strong enough to survive until it was fixed. His will was even strong enough to resist the hold of a Controller Disk for a short time. Weaknesses *Artificial Heart: Tony has an artificial heart and must be recharged at unspecified intervals. Paraphernalia Equipment Main article: Tony Stark's Techonogoly *Iron Man wears a sophisticated suits of armor *He has a number of specialized armors aside from the current model. *He has developed a Tony Stark's Backpack to carry his armor in. *As a genius-level inventor and a teenage billionaire "celebutante". Tony can develop additional technology as needed. *Tony carries a Tony Stark's Cellphone with him. Transportation *Flight, via Jet boots *Roller skates (used once)